Should you be able to plead the Fifth if authorities order you to unlock your iPhone using Touch ID?

A judge in California has recently ruled that your fingerprint does not have the same Constitutional protections as your numeric passcode, so Touch ID-enabled iPhones are susceptible to search warrants. Thankfully, Apple is considering developing a new way to protect our iPhones using Touch ID.

In this week’s iPhone Show, we look into an Apple patent that would give iPhones a new “panic mode” to lock out personal information or reset the device entirely. You’d be able to designate a certain finger for Touch ID to secretly trigger panic mode.

In this day and age of ever-changing privacy protections and the government’s recent fascination with iPhone-hacking, a panic mode could serve as a defense mechanism against self-incrimination. Because this is America, and Siri should have the right to remain silent, too.

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